Political party funding

Political party funding is a method used by a political party to raise money for campaigns and routine activities. The funding of political parties is an aspect of campaign finance.

Political parties are funded by contributions from multiple sources. One of the largest sources of funding comes from party members and individual supporters through membership fees, subscriptions and small donations. This type of funding is often referred to as grassroots funding or support. Solicitation of larger donations from wealthy individuals, often referred to as plutocratic funding, is also a common method of securing funds. Parties can also be funded by organizations that share their political views, such as unions, political action committees, or organizations that seek to benefit from the party's policies. In certain locales, taxpayer money may be given to a party by the federal government. This is accomplished through state aid grants, government, or public funding.^[1]^[2] Additionally, political fundraising can occur via illegal means, such as influence peddling, graft, extortion, kickbacks and embezzlement.

^ See Heard, Alexander, 'Political financing'. In: Sills, David I. (ed.) International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, vol. 12. New York, NY: Free Press – Macmillan, 1968, pp. 235–241; Paltiel, Khayyam Z., 'Campaign finance – contrasting practices and reforms'. In: Butler, David et al. (eds.), Democracy at the polls – a comparative study of competitive national elections. Washington, DC: AEI, 1981, pp. 138–172; Paltiel, Khayyam Z., 'Political finance'. In: Bogdanor, Vernon (ed.), The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Political Institutions. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 1987, pp. 454–456; 'Party finance', in Kurian, George T. et al. (eds.) The encyclopedia of political science. vol 4, Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2011, pp. 1187–1189.
^ Herbert E. Alexander (ed.): Comparative Political Finance in the 1980s. Cambridge, UK; Cambridge University Press, 1989, pp. 14/15.

[1] See Heard, Alexander, 'Political financing'. In: Sills, David I. (ed.) International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, vol. 12. New York, NY: Free Press – Macmillan, 1968, pp. 235–241; Paltiel, Khayyam Z., 'Campaign finance – contrasting practices and reforms'. In: Butler, David et al. (eds.), Democracy at the polls – a comparative study of competitive national elections. Washington, DC: AEI, 1981, pp. 138–172; Paltiel, Khayyam Z., 'Political finance'. In: Bogdanor, Vernon (ed.), The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Political Institutions. Oxford, UK: Blackwell, 1987, pp. 454–456; 'Party finance', in Kurian, George T. et al. (eds.) The encyclopedia of political science. vol 4, Washington, DC: CQ Press, 2011, pp. 1187–1189.

[2] Herbert E. Alexander (ed.): Comparative Political Finance in the 1980s. Cambridge, UK; Cambridge University Press, 1989, pp. 14/15.

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